Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the ability of energy customers to pay bills in full monthly rather than averaged out in advance.

Energy customers can pay their bills in full each quarter. However, paying an amount each month by direct debit is often the cheapest and most cost-effective method for both the consumer and the supplier. Any requirement for suppliers to bill and collect payments monthly will add to operating costs which may be passed to consumers.